Red Bull | Thre3Style Chicago

Red Bull Thre3Style Chicago

8-man DJ competition + DJ Craze

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The Mid. | 306 N Halsted St

9pm | 04.28.11 - TONIGHT!

Red Bull, the energy drink–fueled arbiter of DJ cool, has put together its Thre3Style competition to pit the best party rockers in the land against one another to see who can lay down the best club set. That means, hands in the air, dancing on the backs of booths, spraying champagne and above all footwork-inducing DJ sets. The rules: You have ten minutes and have to cover three genres.

As Red Bull puts it: "Each DJ is tasked with spinning three completely different musical genres, all while keeping the party hot and the dance floor packed."

Seems simple right? Well, the competition has already gotten heated in some of the country's biggest markets. And now it's coming to Chicago. Tonight. Only tomorrow will tell how easy the task really is.

Let's introduce the contestants:

As likely to cause a ruckus as he is to chill things out, Chicago's Big Once is a noted battle DJ, club staple and, most interestingly, one half of dope-as-hell downtempo duo Meat Number 5.

Charlie Glitch is one of the guiding lights behind Pilsen-based DJ crew Ghetto Division. He's a stalwart supporter of Chicago's homegrown dance scene—which means you can hear him rocking everything from ghetto house to Latin music. He's also been spending a lot of time schmoozing with the Trouble and Bass crew, which is especially cool.

A hip-hop purest through and through, Jay Illa has dabbled in every facet of the lifestyle: writing rhymes, tagging walls and spinning around linoleum. But it's his 10-plus years as a Chicago DJ staple that got him here.

When he's not mixing turntablism, club hits, house and remixes at one of his residencies—which include regular appearances at Sub51, Lumen and Griffin Lounge—DJ Jem is also one half of remixing duo the RadioAktives. Verstatility is a word that doesn't stray far from Jem's bio.

An alum of the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy, Marco Morales sets up shop weekly in the posh confines of Double A and then the party-hearty dance floor known as Evil Olive. He's also a co-owner of Hot Dog Records with fellow Thre3Style competitor Zebo. His skill and taste go far and wide, making him an ideal competitor.

Stylish, handsome and possessing that certain je ne sais quoi necessary to truly preside over the dance floor, the Crossfader Kings' Matt Roan is a true force on the city's club landscape. Past residencies have seen him get parties freaking at Sub51, Underground and the numerous fashion events he is so obviously a perfect fit for. But don't let his charm fool you, he's the real deal.

Rivaling Phife Dogg as the true five-foot assassin, DJ Trentino packs a lot into a tight package. He's spent as much time behind the mixing board as he has the turntables, working with MTV, VH1 and Ford Models when he's not rocking the spot at clubs like Lumen, Mansion and Bon V.

Quite possible the man wearing the most hats—or with his hands in the most crates, to spin the analogy to the DJ world—Zebo can be found spinning sweet soul at Butterfly Social Club, deep disco at Smart Bar, irie reggae at Mr. Brown's Lounge and, every Friday night, giving the club kids what they crave at Evil Olive. Then, to top it all off, he teaches kids how to DJ at Columbia College during the day. Whew.

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